Something Different
by lauraforthewinoswald
Summary: AU where Clara was still a human and saved from the Dalek asylum. She jumps on the Tardis and finds herself comforting her heartbroken "Nina".


"Chin Boy!" Clara ran up to The Doctor and pounced on him with a big hug. "Ok, the shield's down. Let's run." She took The Doctor's hand and they made their way back to the teleport room to find Amy and Rory in the middle of a heated argument. "Bad time, I think." Clara bit her lip.

The couple quickly turned their heads. "So... this is the great and powerful Oswin." Amy looked her up and down with a judgemental smirk.

They teleported back to the Dalek Parliament room expecting to fight off a giant army. But when they arrived, the Daleks didn't seem to recognize The Doctor at all. "Deleted from the entire Pathweb. You're welcome." Oswin winked at The Doctor as she walked back into the Tardis. "Now come on, I was promised a trip of a lifetime."

"Right! So, where to? Back home?" The Doctor jumped in and started flipping the switches on his console.

"I haven't really got anyone to go back home to. You're the expert, right? So what do you suggest?" Clara sat on a chair and twirled herself around excitedly.

"What do you two think?" The Doctor looked at Amy and Rory who still looked a bit distant from each other.

"Well, I'm a bit tired of killer robots myself so I'm thinking somewhere a little less deadly. I know how hard that is for you but please try." Rory sighed.

"Got it, somewhere not deadly. I can do that. You kids just relax and we'll be lounging in hammocks at one of my favorite tiki bars in no time. It's right on the edge of the Oculus Nebula. It's overlooking the shores of the..." The Doctor started rambling on as his three companions began to talk amongst themselves.

"So..." Amy leaned up against the railing beside Clara's chair. "Who are you exactly?"

"Well, I'm Clara Oswin Oswald. I worked in the entertainment division." She smiled. "I thought it would be a great opportunity to join Alaska and see the universe. Didn't work out as planned... but now with Chin Boy, I can finally get my wish."

"Yeah, The Doctor's pretty amazing." Amy slowly began to warm up to Oswin and they got so deep into chit chat about interstellar travel ideas that Rory figured he'd just slip away unnoticed back to him room for a bit of rest.

The girls were suddenly interrupted by a loud crackling followed by flickering lights and sparks from the console. "Ok, this is fine. No worries. It's just a small delay." The Doctor quickly grabbed his blowtorch and goggles. "I'll be down below if you need me."

"I'll be in the kitchen." Amy sighed. "You coming?" She looked at Clara.

"I think I'd like to explore the ship instead, if you don't mind." Clara looked around as she spoke.

"Ok, but don't get lost. It can get a little crazy in here if you make a wrong turn." Amy warned as she walked out to the kitchen.

Clara walked down the corridors opening every door she found. She saw the pool, the greenhouse and the library before she opened the door the Rory's room. "Oops. Didn't mean to wake you." She chuckled. "Nice hair by the way."

"Haha" Rory laughed facetiously as he combed his hair a little with his hands. "I was trying to sleep before I heard the Tardis stop working."

"Yeah, Doctor said he's got it. Just a minor thing, should be up and running in no time." Clara smiled as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. "So, how did you meet The Doctor?"

"Through Amy." Rory replied.

"Amy's really pretty. She's your girlfriend?" Clara asked with that sweetly flirtatious tone she'd used before when she asked him to take his shirt off.

"Yeah, she's really pretty." Rory gave a weak smile and sat on the edge of the bed. "And she's my wife... Or I think she is. We signed divorce papers but we haven't turned them in."

"So you think you can patch things up then?" Clara smiled and sat beside him on the bed. "Maybe with this nice getaway on the beaches of Oculus. You need to just relax a little and get to know each other again."

"Maybe.." Rory sighed.

"What lead you two to sign the papers in the first place?" Clara's eyes grew wide with concern when she saw how quickly Rory's head went up at the question. "Maybe that was too bold a thing to ask. Sorry... you don't have to answer that."

"I guess we're officially Tardis mates now so I'll tell you. But only if you promise not to tell Amy I told you." Rory chuckled a bit as Clara made a zipping sound while closing her lips with an imaginary zipper. "Ok well.. she kicked me out some time ago without any explanation whatsoever. I didn't know what to do, I tried to talk to her but she wouldn't even let me touch her. It's been weeks since we've..." Rory stopped himself and took a deep breath. "Well, she just told me what it was. Back in the teleport room when we were arguing, she said it was because she couldn't conceive. I've always wanted kids and she thought I was upset with her. How can I be upset with her about something completely beyond her control? I told her it didn't matter but she still got it in her head that I was better off leaving her."

"I'm sorry" Clara whispered. "You're obviously in love with her but maybe she has a point." Clara's eyes widened again as Rory gave her a slightly cold glare. "I've really overstepped my bounds this time, haven't I?"

"I've fought for her and waited for her so many times. I followed her to the edge of the universe and back again. I'd die for her and she really thinks I could just leave her so easily." Rory sounded angry but there was a tremble in his voice attempting to hold back the tears. "It's my fault. After we lost Melody I was so eager to try again that I didn't even stop to think about how she was feeling. I didn't ask if she was ready to try again. I pushed her too hard and made her feel like she failed me, like she wasn't good enough anymore."

"My darling, beautiful Nina." Clara put her arms around Rory in a comforting embrace. "You can't blame yourself. This isn't anyone's fault. Sometimes life just happens and it doesn't work out like you wanted no matter how hard you try."

"I gave her everything I had. I gave my all, I really did." Rory wiped a stray tear from his cheek and did his best to regain some composure. "I should have known I could never really have her." His voice became dark and direct. "She always wanted The Doctor. There's no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't rejected her advances she would have left me and she would have never come back. I was just her next best option."

"Wait, are you saying Amy tried to put the moves on The Doctor while you were still together?" Clara asked surprised.

"Yup, snogged him in her bedroom and then she jumped into her bed and invited him in. But he said no so she married me instead." Rory rolled his eyes. "I have The Doctor to thank for letting me have a chance with Amy."

"I'm not saying that what Amy did was right but I get it. There's something strangely charismatic about Chin Boy." Clara smiled as though she were thinking about him in that very moment.

"I guess." Rory scoffed.

"So you confronted her about it?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, she said it wasn't anything to do with me. It wasn't that she didn't love me. She just got curious about trying something different." Rory replied.

"What about you?" Clara lightly rested her hand on Rory's. "Have you ever wanted to try something different?"

"Are you asking if I'm interested in The Doctor? Because... just no.." Rory shivered at the thought.

Clara laughed. "I didn't mean that exactly. I meant just in general, have you thought about someone else?"

"It's only ever been her. I've never wanted anyone but her." Rory found himself staring into Clara's eyes for a moment as he noticed her hand had been holding his. He moved his hand over hers and couldn't help but caress her hand ever so lightly with his fingertips.

Clara looked down at their hands and smiled. "If the worst should happen to the two of you... I wouldn't mind, you know... giving you something different to try."

"I..." Rory's lips quivered a bit. It'd been so long since he'd felt someone hold his hand like that. And he certainly wasn't used to beautiful strangers coming on to him. He almost felt himself lean in unwillingly, a gravitational force urging him to kiss her. "I'm sorry..." He removed his hand from hers and snapped out of it. "You're just flirting to keep things cheerful again, right?"

"Yeah..." Clara stood up quickly and walked back to the doorway. She'd been serious about the offer but figured it best not to pursue it any further. He was still too much in love with Amy. And like Rory, she wasn't too comfortable with sharing. "Amy's in the kitchen. You should go and talk to her like you talked to me. Tell her everything you're feeling and how much you love her. If she doesn't listen I'll go talk some sense into her myself."

"Yeah, I'll talk to her." Rory smiled back. "Thank you."


End file.
